The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a multi-billion dollar international financing mechanism intended to combat these scourges by dramatically increasing the availability of funding for practical health initiatives. Unlike much international development aid, Global Fund support will be available only to programs that developing countries design and implement themselves. This novel approach means that the ability to continue raising funds from the international community depends on successful results from these country-led programs.

The issue is that most countries which need access to this fund the most don’t have the skillsets to apply for access to this fund in a timely and professional manner. So, in 2003, Jeffrey Sachs (Columbia University professor and author of The End of Poverty) & Glaser Foundation (Rob Glaser who founded RealNetworks) founded The Access Project for the Global Fund — press release and overview.

The initiative offers hands-on strategic planning to governments of developing countries and organizations applying for funding, helping to evaluate existing programs, identify the most successful models and monitor implementation of new programs when those are funded.

I think this is a very interesting investment approach which directs funds to help planning for ultimately better use of larger implementation projects. We all know that good planning is a smart investment.